When the landing gear is retracted inside the wheel well, that is to say when the aircraft is in flight, the forward and aft door assemblies are both closed and are in aerodynamic continuity with the portion of the fuselage of the aircraft surrounding the opening of the landing gear wheel well. To deploy the landing gear, the first step is to open the forward door assembly for the landing gear to pass through it, the aft door assembly remaining closed, after which, deployment continuing, the aft door assembly is opened and the front door assembly closed again. This process makes it possible to limit the introduction into the interior of the wheel well of an airflow that would generate turbulence and therefore drag.
Accordingly, when the landing gear is in its entirely deployed position, the forward door assembly is closed and the aft door assembly is open only to allow the leg of the landing gear to pass through it.
Conversely, when the landing gear has been deployed and must be retracted into the wheel well, the aft door assembly then being open, the first step is to open the forward door assembly, after which, when the landing gear leg, in retracting, has moved out of the aft door assembly, the latter is closed, after which, the landing gear having been completely retracted into the wheel well, the forward door assembly is also closed.
Accordingly, both on landing (deployment of the landing gear) and on take-off (retraction of the landing gear) of the aircraft, the process of controlling the landing gear includes a temporary phase during which the forward door assembly is open and the aft door assembly is closed. During such a temporary phase, air enters the wheel well via the forward door assembly and strikes the aft door assembly, which produces vibrations generating noise and drag, at the same time as subjecting the aft door assembly and its environment to high mechanical forces.